Is it really hard to leave midday and come back?

[MickeyWaffles]

We generally do not plan breaks. We plan our 3 FP for as early in the day as possible. We always plan to stay at the park until lunch. We play everything after lunch by ear (except dinner ADRs if we have them.) So many things factor into an afternoon break for us. The weather, crowds, kids’ moods — we have found that the best way for us to take a break is truly just based on how we feel that day.

When we stay at a resort in close proximity to a park, we are much more likely to duck out of the parks and take a quick break. We have never stayed at CSR but have stayed at other resorts that are not close to a park and we didn’t take as many breaks on those visits.

 

[tlmadden73]

Not hard, but it just burns a lot of time. Between walking back to front of park, waiting for bus, riding bus, and then walking back to your room. That is probably about an hour right there (30 minutes both ways) or more. Throw in an 2+ hours of "rest time" and you burned 3 hours of a 12 hour park day. Sometimes that rest time can turn into "ehh .. i'm tired, let's not go back" .. and you've just spent $100 for 4-5 hours in a theme park.

Really it depends on your family. I rarely do mid-day breaks with young kids knowing that we can just stick it out and be done for the day at dinner. We don't stay late with the little ones, we just break in the parks. Once they are able to stay up late, we probably will shift to doing mid-day breaks (depending where we are staying) to refresh to come back until close.

That being said, we did it every day for our 3-day trip in August simply because it was HOT and it was our "just chill" trip (3rd trip of the year on an AP, so we weren't focused on doing a lot of rides/shows). We luckily were back at our hotel room when the afternoon rains hit and gave us a time to refresh before heading back or doing something else for the night (like go to another resort for dinner).

It's just sometimes hard to get back moving once you stop.

 

[Alli1988]

My family has never adopted the mid day nap/rest well. We have kids and it always takes them 1-2 hours to fall asleep in the room during the day (if they do at all) and then by the time they wake up and we refresh and pack the stroller it's dinner time. By the time we feed them we just wished we were back in the room. Even without kids, I always try to do the math on the time being conservative but seems like I always allow an hour from inside park to back inside the room, to be safe and allow for RR stops or drinks, late bus, poor room location, etc. If you make two trips to and from a park, that's 4 hours potentially... So between 12pm and 6pm you need to spend 2 hours on transportation, etc. and I would guess an hour or so getting re-ready after a swim, I would view it as wasting 3 hours for a 3 hour swim, excluding changing for the swim, taking a breather to watch TV, and the back and forth and finding everything and getting ready and watching the clock and catching buses probably negates any energy you got back by taking a mid-day break. I also always feel like I've been hit by a bus when I try to get back up and going after a mid-day break in the evening if I put 3-4 miles on quickly in the morning. We ALWAYS stay on property but 100% disagree with "stay on property so it's easy to take a break" that is all over the internet. Using benches in the park, eating slowly at indoor food service, or just relaxing on a cool ride with short wait for a few hours seems like a better plan, especially when you will get to rest at the dinner at 6pm. If this is an adult only trip and you have been to Disney several times (you probably wouldn't be asking this question) but THAT is when I would say, get up and go early to do a few rides/shows, then have some after noon pool/adult drink time, and then go back to catch fireworks. You won't "get much done" but you will be relaxed. But I've been 5 times in 5 years and we still go-go-go.

 

[midnight star]

My family has never adopted the mid day nap/rest well. We have kids and it always takes them 1-2 hours to fall asleep in the room during the day (if they do at all) and then by the time they wake up and we refresh and pack the stroller it's dinner time. By the time we feed them we just wished we were back in the room. Even without kids, I always try to do the math on the time being conservative but seems like I always allow an hour from inside park to back inside the room, to be safe and allow for RR stops or drinks, late bus, poor room location, etc. If you make two trips to and from a park, that's 4 hours potentially... So between 12pm and 6pm you need to spend 2 hours on transportation, etc. and I would guess an hour or so getting re-ready after a swim, I would view it as wasting 3 hours for a 3 hour swim, excluding changing for the swim, taking a breather to watch TV, and the back and forth and finding everything and getting ready and watching the clock and catching buses probably negates any energy you got back by taking a mid-day break. I also always feel like I've been hit by a bus when I try to get back up and going after a mid-day break in the evening if I put 3-4 miles on quickly in the morning. We ALWAYS stay on property but 100% disagree with "stay on property so it's easy to take a break" that is all over the internet. Using benches in the park, eating slowly at indoor food service, or just relaxing on a cool ride with short wait for a few hours seems like a better plan, especially when you will get to rest at the dinner at 6pm. If this is an adult only trip and you have been to Disney several times (you probably wouldn't be asking this question) but THAT is when I would say, get up and go early to do a few rides/shows, then have some after noon pool/adult drink time, and then go back to catch fireworks. You won't "get much done" but you will be relaxed. But I've been 5 times in 5 years and we still go-go-go.

We are only thinking about doing a midday break on the Epcot day because we were able to get our fastpasses early in the day, and there isn’t much there. The other days we plan to stay until close then relax at the hotel after. It’s still not off the table that we will stay all day..we just want to make a plan just in case we get tired and need a break.

 

[midnight star]

Not hard, but it just burns a lot of time. Between walking back to front of park, waiting for bus, riding bus, and then walking back to your room. That is probably about an hour right there (30 minutes both ways) or more. Throw in an 2+ hours of "rest time" and you burned 3 hours of a 12 hour park day. Sometimes that rest time can turn into "ehh .. i'm tired, let's not go back" .. and you've just spent $100 for 4-5 hours in a theme park.

This is what worries me a little. January has shorter park hours so theoretically we could stay open to close then relax at night....hmm decisions decisions

 

[Alli1988]

We are only thinking about doing a midday break on the Epcot day because we were able to get our fastpasses early in the day, and there isn’t much there. The other days we plan to stay until close then relax at the hotel after. It’s still not off the table that we will stay all day..we just want to make a plan just in case we get tired and need a break.

If its only one day, just try it and see if it works for you. It IS do-able and just personal preference.

 

[Micca]

Not hard, but it just burns a lot of time. Between walking back to front of park, waiting for bus, riding bus, and then walking back to your room. That is probably about an hour right there (30 minutes both ways) or more. Throw in an 2+ hours of "rest time" and you burned 3 hours of a 12 hour park day. Sometimes that rest time can turn into "ehh .. i'm tired, let's not go back" .. and you've just spent $100 for 4-5 hours in a theme park.

This resonates with me. Once you go back to the resort it's tough to get motivated to return to a park. We have annual passes so that mitigates the "$100 for 4 hours in a park" but the point is well-taken. We usually just keep going until we've had enough "park."

You get back to icy cold room, you stop sweating, shoes come off, you sit on comfortable furniture,it's quiet, there's all that cold beer in the fridge...oops, I digress

 

[disneyseniors]

We will be staying at Coronado springs. On our Epcot day we have a big chunk of time before our 6pm dinner reservation. Is it a good idea to leave around 12, go back to the hotel for the pool, and then come back for dinner at 6pm? I have read a few posts that leaving and coming back can take up so much time with the buses and security. If the buses are hard, I figure we can just Uber back?

WE are 2 adults and we always do that. Never had a problem. We hit the parks at rope drop and stay until after lunch, around 12 or 1, leave and go back to our resort. We rest up for a while, and then about 3 or 4 we catch a bus to another park. We've never had problems with this, even when we stayed at POR with multiple bus stops. If you are concerned, just leave earlier than planned or Uber. I think a lot of people do this all the time at Disney.

 

[YawningDodo]

We are only thinking about doing a midday break on the Epcot day because we were able to get our fastpasses early in the day, and there isn’t much there. The other days we plan to stay until close then relax at the hotel after. It’s still not off the table that we will stay all day..we just want to make a plan just in case we get tired and need a break.

Here's a question--what are you planning to do in Epcot, and do you need to be there at rope drop to do it? I had initially planned a rope drop morning at Epcot with an afternoon break for my upcoming trip until I realized most of what I wanted to do was stroll the World Showcase, which doesn't open until 11:00 anyway. If you've got Fastpasses for the things you're excited about doing, what about sleeping in a bit and taking your extra rest time in the morning instead of midday?

Obviously not a good option if FEA is a priority and you don't have a FP+ for it; just food for thought.

 

[midnight star]

Here's a question--what are you planning to do in Epcot, and do you need to be there at rope drop to do it? I had initially planned a rope drop morning at Epcot with an afternoon break for my upcoming trip until I realized most of what I wanted to do was stroll the World Showcase, which doesn't open until 11:00 anyway. If you've got Fastpasses for the things you're excited about doing, what about sleeping in a bit and taking your extra rest time in the morning instead of midday?

Obviously not a good option if FEA is a priority and you don't have a FP+ for it; just food for thought.

We have fastpasses for Spaceship earth at 9:35am and then Frozen ever after at 11:20 am. We don't have anything scheduled until the 6:50pm dinner reservation at Coral Reef. My friend wants to see the art festival that is there, I know that!

 

[Gehrig1B]

We almost always leave after lunch, especially as the crowds develop. We have no problem leaving and returning later usually around 5:00. We mostly stay deluxe or Skyliner resort so unless we are at Animal Kingdom it is pretty easy to get back to our room most days.

 

[lauris87]

I always go in the summer, and we do this every day. I also pack two outfits for each day because of the rain/sweat, etc. We do a different park in the evening.

 

[Ensusieasm]

We will be staying at Coronado springs. On our Epcot day we have a big chunk of time before our 6pm dinner reservation. Is it a good idea to leave around 12, go back to the hotel for the pool, and then come back for dinner at 6pm? I have read a few posts that leaving and coming back can take up so much time with the buses and security. If the buses are hard, I figure we can just Uber back?

Unless you’re staying at a resort very close to a park, I recommend planning for five hours between the time you walk out of a park and the time you want to be walking back in to a park if you are planning to use disney buses, and you want a real relaxing break. Otherwise it’s just not worth the effort.

 

[Ellie Webbs]

We go bag free in this situation, bag check isn't usually awful but it's an extra help just in case.

 

[BobbyDukes]

I would say if you are travelling with children thats the big swaying vote here.
Leaving with kids/stroller/backpacks and travelling through the exits and then bus rides could add one hour back home and one hour back to the park so that would add two hours too your trip back to the hotel.

 

[Summer2018]

We will be staying at Coronado springs. On our Epcot day we have a big chunk of time before our 6pm dinner reservation. Is it a good idea to leave around 12, go back to the hotel for the pool, and then come back for dinner at 6pm? I have read a few posts that leaving and coming back can take up so much time with the buses and security. If the buses are hard, I figure we can just Uber back?

We have never toured any other way than to take an afternoon nap or pool break. We did all day at a park once in 15 years. Never again. We did it when we used the bus at CBR and All Star Music resorts. We do it now using the monorail or boat. Obviously it is easier staying closer to the park you are visiting, but having a midday break was 100% worth traveling on the bus.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Thanks for asking this question. It's one I'm struggling with, as well. Former trips have been with older kids who were able to power through full days. This trip will be with my 4-year-old who doesn't easily nap these days, but will probably be pretty tired and cranky if she doesn't get down time. I'm also all the way at ASMu, so bus transportation means probably not a quick hop back. That said, I got a really good rate, and I figure the money I saved on the hotel will pay for some uber rides.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

We've done a mix of what a lot of other people are saying. I'm a commando, park open to park close type person, but the rest of my family prefers a break. We've left parks before with the intention of returning, but without following through. We've also gone back to them feeling really refreshed. Epcot is probably my favorite park to take a break from and return to. Coral Reef has always been a good choice for us.

 

[Ellie Webbs]

We've done a mix of what a lot of other people are saying. I'm a commando, park open to park close type person, but the rest of my family prefers a break. We've left parks before with the intention of returning, but without following through. We've also gone back to them feeling really refreshed. Epcot is probably my favorite park to take a break from and return to. Coral Reef has always been a good choice for us.

This is true for us, once we are out of the parks the chances of us making back in are slim to none, especially with such good pools at wdw!

 

[Miffy]

I have never had good results with buses leaving Epcot to resorts during the day. Never. Going to other parks? Not a big deal. Resort? No.

These days if I'm going to go back to my resort after a morning in Epcot, I don't even think of using the buses. I do a rideshare from Epcot (make sure you know where rideshare pickup is, since it's not at the bus stop and I'm not sure where it is now that they're redoing the entrance) or spend time on the Boardwalk and rideshare from there.

Just warning you, OP. The wait time for the bus--not the travel time--back to your resort could be the biggest time-waste in your plan.